finest silk, a fluffy ball. Who would guess the 

 treasure within these grotesque pods with their 

 long beaks, their spines and wrinkles? They are 

 like curious old junks with a cargo of rich stuffs 

 of the East, which children — young pirates that 

 they are — overhaul on the high seas of the pasture 

 and despoil of their treasure. 



It is the sturdy character, if nothing more, of 

 some weeds which constitutes their charm, for 

 health is beautiful everywhere. Ironweed and joe- 

 pye-weed are such lusty, vigorous plants, and bur- 

 dock and jimson-weed. The earth shall nourish 

 them ; they push themselves to the front ; they do 

 not live by any one's favor. How can the impov- 

 erished dust of the roadside sustain these burdocks 

 with their incredible leaves? The richest swamp 

 produces no such extravagant foliage. As for the 

 ironweed, it clothes the pastures with a royal 

 purple, so rich a hue it compels the eye, and is a 

 kind of stimulant. One may become mildly in- 

 toxicated with such color. 



In August the high-roads and by-roads are 

 painted — stripes of gamboge and patches of delicate 

 blue — and all because of some weeds. It would 

 be worth while riding through the country at 



73 



